Fifi B29 Superfortress

Last weekend Fifi, a B29 Superfortress flew into Veterans Airport to show off the CAF’s achievements and those of veterans across the world. I was able to take the tour of the interior of the plane and was in awe of the inner workings of the plane. Going through the cockpit I learnt that the Norden Bomb sight was donated by Tennessee Ernie Ford who was a First Lieutenant, he served in the United States Army Air Corps in World War II as the bombardier on a B-29 Superfortress flying missions over Japan. He was also a bombing instructor at George Air Force Base, located in Victorville, California.

The CAF had been actively searching for a B-29 for their use. Through Vic Agather they had an agreement that should one be found that was owned by the government but not in use, it would be turned over to the CAF.

In 1971, a CAF pilot in the National Guard reported sighting a number of what might be B-29s on the California desert near China Lake. The CAF learned the aircraft were indeed Superfortresses that had been parked at a US Navy weapons center for 17 years. The aircraft had been used for gunnery targets and abused by heat, sand and vandals. After much negotiation (the US Air Force owned the aircraft; the Navy had to agree to release one), much paperwork and a painstaking search for the best survivor, the CAF became the owner of s/n 44-62070, officially acquired title on 23 March 1971, registering it as N4249.
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FIFI from the DC Flyover, 5/8/2015.
A CAF maintenance team arrived at China Lake on 31 March 1971 and in only nine weeks, with the help of more CAF volunteers, they restored all systems and replaced fuel, oil and hydraulic hoses. The restoration process involved cannibalizing parts from other B-29s at China Lake, installing instruments, having new window bubbles made and restoring controls to working order. After the CAF technicians ran the engines, tested propellers and landing gear, N4249 was made ready to fly again by 3 August 1971.[contact-form][contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”true” /][contact-field label=”Website” type=”url” /][contact-field label=”Message” type=”textarea” /][/contact-form] They had a permit to make a single ferry flight out of China Lake although once it landed, the B-29 would be grounded.

The ferry crew took on enough fuel to fly non-stop 1,250 miles to CAF Headquarters, then in Harlingen, Texas, lifted off at 7:48 a.m. and in a six-hour, 38-minute flight, brought home the last flying B-29 Superfortress without incident. The complete restoration to CAF standards of airworthiness was a long and expensive project involving more than three years of fund raising and hard work. Late in 1974, the CAF’s B-29 was christened FIFI and joined the other World War II fighters and bombers to continue the CAF mandate “to preserve the memories and teach of lessons of mankind’s greatest war.”[